


The Dungeon Club

by TweakerWolf (Frostbyte)



Series: Dungeon Club Adventures [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Breakfast Club (1985)
Genre: Bonding, Drinking, F/F, F/M, Gen, Saturday detention, Stereotypes, Teasing, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-17 07:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1379449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostbyte/pseuds/TweakerWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What will happen when Hermione, Luna, Draco, Cho, and Cedric all get stuck in a Saturday detention with Snape? Set as a Breakfast Club crossover, find out what's in store for these 5 witches and wizards as they are stuck together for 8 hours. Maybe they'll even make a few new friends along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting the Players

**Author's Note:**

> Setting: Hermione and Draco are in their 5th year, Luna is a 4th year, Cho is 6th year and Cedric is a 7th year (fudging his age, since I've already fudged his death, leave me alone). Hermione is the brainiac, Draco is the 'criminal', Luna is the basket-case, Cho is the athlete and Cedric is the prince. Takes place on a Saturday in the dungeons; everyone has detention for a different reason. Also, I'm writing Draco as a practical joker, similar to Fred and George; he constantly acts out against Snape because as his Godfather, Snape is always trying to tell him what is best for him. Clearly Draco doesn't like being told what to do or how to act. Hermione and Luna aren't close friends in this fic, and Cho and Cedric are no longer dating, leading to a slightly uncomfortable friendship during detention. Even though this takes place during their 5th year, there will be no mention of Umbridge or the Inquisitorial Squad, also no mention of the Triwizard Tournament, since I'm not sure how to dance around the subject of Cedric being alive XD

Hermione grumbled as she entered the dungeons, it wasn't fair that she was here, Snape was just being an ass when he gave her detention earlier this week. She wondered why he was having multiple people come to the same detention, but maybe it was easier to have all the misbehavers in one detention versus not having free evenings to do whatever it was the Snape did. She took her usual place, the second desk from the front on the right hand side, of course she was the first one there; as she put her bag on the desk, the door opened again. Cedric was walking in the door, he gave Hermione a warm smile when he saw her sitting there and he made his way to the front desk on the very left. Hermione tried not to feel too disappointed when he didn't join her, he was one of the popular guys. The door opened again and Cho hurried in, quickly glancing around the room and deciding to sit with Cedric.

Hermione sighed, it was going to be a long day if it was just going to be the three of them, but at least she'd get some work done. As the doors opened again her hopes were dashed, Draco Malfoy came sauntering in, usual smirk on his face. He walked down the center row, deciding to sit at the table next to Hermione; he jumped up to sit on the table, feet resting on the chair. Hermione did her best to ignored him, staring down at her hands to avoid looking in his direction. Lastly, just before Snape came in, Luna floated into the room, taking a seat in the very back.

Everyone's head snapped forward as Professor Snape came into the room, he paused for a moment to look around the room at all of them.

"So glad you could all make it, everyone, take your wands out and put your bags on the floor. You won't be working on any homework today."

There was shuffling as everyone reached into their robes to pull out their wands and drop their bags on the floor; Professor Snape flicked his wand, silently Accio-ing all of their wands into his open hand.

"There will be no wands, you'll get them back when you leave. I don't have time to babysit you and I will not tolerate any fights." Snape put all the wands in his robe before walking over to his desk. He opened one of the drawers and flicked his wand again, scrolls of parchment and quills floating through the room. "Instead, I want you each to write me an essay, no less than 10 inches, telling me who you are. And there will be no repeating words or writing largely to make up the length."

Snape reached into the desk and pulled out a few ink bottles, walking between the desks and handing them out.

"Let's see, who do we have here today," Snape began, smirking at the troublemakers, "We have Mr. Popular with us today, as well as the Quidditch player," he said, passing Cedric and Cho.

"Then of course we have the weird one," he paused, handing Luna her ink bottle. "Of course young Mister Malfoy is here, the usual troublemaker. Can't you go a week without getting a detention?"

"Of course not Professor, where is the fun in that?" Draco smirked as Snape pulled the chair out from under his feet.

""Off of the table, sit in the chair like a civilized wizard Mister Malfoy, or you'll be coming back next week to learn how."

"Yea, whatever you say."

Snape made his way to the last table, looking down at Hermione, "And here is the insufferable know-it-all, maybe now you'll learn not to speak out of turn Miss Granger."

Hermione felt her fingers curl into fists as he placed the ink down in front of her and walked back to the front of the classroom.

"I expect it to stay quiet in here, there will be no talking, only writing. You are not to leave your seats so get comfortable. I'll be leaving this door open, I'll be right down the hall in my office, so don't even think about trying anything," he warned them before walking out of the dungeon.

There was silence for a few moments after he left, but it didn't last long. As soon as Draco was sure that he made it to his office, he jumped off the table and wandered over to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

"So, Diggory, still dating Chang here?" he asked, sitting on the table behind them.

"Um, no, we're not dating anymore," Cedric answered quietly.

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Really? Then how come you're sitting together? You've moved on haven't you, dating that one blonde chick right? And yet here you two are, hmm. If you aren't careful, people might start to wonder if you've got a thing going on the side."

"Shut it Malfoy! I don't want to miss another Saturday of Quidditch practice just because you don't know how to shut your mouth," Cho whispered vehemently, glaring at the blonde sitting behind her.

"Oh, fiery, I can see why you ended it Diggory, you're too nice, she must have walked all over you. Me on the other hand, I don't mind a challenge, what do you say Chang?"

"Go to hell and get away from me," she replied, turning back to her parchment.

"Malfoy, go sit down before you get us all in trouble, I just want to get today over with and go back to normal, alright?" Cedric reasoned.

"Oh please, just because you're a 7th year doesn't mean you can boss me around! I'm better than you in every way, simple fact," Draco preened.

Cho snorted, "Oh yea, then how come Ravenclaw wiped the pitch with your team during our last match?"

Draco scowled, "I let you win, I felt bad for you, your team kinda sucks, and now that you're captain, I figured you needed a win. Don't let it go to your head."

"I can beat you out on the pitch any day of the week Malfoy, so could Cedric."

"Whatever, you are both lame anyways," he claimed, jumping lightly off the table and looking between the other two in the room. He couldn't help but snort when he looked over at Loony, there was nothing he'd gain by talking to her, so he strolled over to Granger's table; he was sure to get a rise out of her. The Slytherin casually pulled out one of the chairs from the first desk, straddling it and leaning his elbows on the table. Granger was trying hard to ignore him and he hadn't even opened his mouth yet, this was going to be fun.

"Hey Mudblood, what did you do to get stuck in here all day?"Draco asked.

Hermione clenched her teeth to keep from responding, breathing hard out of her nose, wishing he'd go away.

"Oh come on, talk to me, I'm not that bad am I?"

"Leave me alone Malfoy, you know why I'm here!"

"Oh, it speaks! And truthfully I don't. The other day in Potions, Professor Snape just wanted to talk to you after class, how did that result in Saturday detention?"

Hermione lost her temper, "Malfoy, I swear if you don't leave me alone, I'll hex you into next week!"

"Oh calm down Mudblood, you're no fun," he scoffed, getting out of the chair and walking over to the door.

Hermione smirked, "Cutting out early are you?"

Draco quietly closed the door, looking over his shoulder, "Nope, just want to make things a little more private, if you know what I mean."

Hermione gagged when he winked at her, quickly looking down at her parchment. Snape wanted 10 inches by the end of the day, if she focused, it shouldn't take her too long, but what exactly did he want her to talk about? What did he really mean by 'who you are'? She jumped when Draco took up his spot across the desk from her again, leaning in close.

"So, what are you going to write about Miss Know-it-all? I don't see anything written down yet."

"That's because you won't leave me alone. I prefer silence when I'm writing, so would you kindly go back to your own desk?"

"But my desk is lonely and no fun," Draco pouted. When Granger didn't buy it, he tried a different tactic, "I'll leave you alone if you write mine for me, how about that?"

She laughed, "Oh yea, like I'm going to do your work for you. I'll just write about how big of a prat you are, does that sound good?"

"I'm not a prat Mudblood! You're just jealous you don't come from a prestigious family like the Malfoys."

"Yea, sure, keep telling yourself that. Now go away!"

Draco sighed and stood up, heading back over to his original desk and laying across it, looking up at the dingy ceiling. From there he listened to Chang and Diggory talking about Quidditch, scowling at their familiar nature.

"I feel like I need to work with my Chasers more, they don't really seem to trust each other. Two of them are new to the team this year, so I'm not surprised, but we've had a lot of practices, so it really shouldn't be an issue anymore," Cho was telling the other captain.

"Well, how much time do you all spend together off the pitch?"

"Not much," she admitted. "We're from a bunch of different years so we all have different classes. Plus there are some of them that have a lot of homework because of O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s. Do you think I should organize team stuff outside of practices?"

"I think that would be a good idea, it would really help bring the team together, maybe like a team study group where the older players can help the younger ones and such."

Draco interrupted, "I don't understand you two… if you aren't even dating anymore, why are you trying to help her with her team? If she's a crappy captain, you should be taking advantage of it, not offering her tips on how to help."

"Yea, well not everyone is an arse like you are," Cho commented, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder.

"Seems more like he's still carrying a torch for you, might ask for a favor in the changing rooms," he snickered, lifting his eyebrows.

Cedric stood up and faced the blonde, "Stop speaking to her like that Malfoy, it's rude and uncalled for. I think you should apologize!"

"Look who's all angry, calm down Diggory, don't get your knickers in a twist."

"Apologize and stop talking to her and we won't have a problem."

Hermione stood up then too, "Will you both be quiet! Just start on your damn essays and leave each other alone! I don't want to have to come back here next week!"

Draco was about to respond when they heard angry footsteps coming down the hall; everyone quickly sat down and looked at their parchment. Just then Snape came storming into the room, door banging against the wall.

"Who closed that door? What's going on in here?"


	2. Making More Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snape comes in demanding to know who closed the door and Draco doesn't know when to shut up

No one wanted to answer him, they all kept looking anywhere but at him, but Snape wanted answers.

"Diggory, who closed that door?"

No response, he just averted his eyes and shrugged, not wanting to give anything away.

Luna spoke up then, singsong voice carrying to the front of the class, "Maybe it was the Nargles, they like to cause mischief you know."

Professor Snape just rolled his eyes and ignored her; instead he strode over to his Godson, arms crossed.

"Did you close that door Draco, even though I warned everyone it was to stay open?

"The door just closed Professor," Draco replied, looking him right in the eye.

"Miss Granger, tell me, who closed that door?" Snape barked, turning to the last witch.

Hermione sighed, knowing he wouldn't believe her if she said no one. She looked him in the eye, hoping to appear the right amount of nervous, "Well Professor, actually it was Peeves, he closed the door. And since you told us not to get out of our seats, we didn't know if we should open it back up or not."

She bit her lip, wondering if he believed her; she wasn't even sure why she was covering for Malfoy, he was nothing but a pest. Snape regarded her for a few moments before turning and walking back to the front of the class.

"What are you all looking at? I see none of you have even started on your essays, I suggest you fix that."

With that, he left them again, propping the door open once more and going back into his office. Letting out a careful sigh, Hermione picked up her quill, telling herself to focus on the stupid essay that Snape was demanding; she started by writing her name in the corner. Letting out a groan, she tried to concentrate, what did Snape want to hear from her? He called her a know-it-all, but she didn't have an answer for this one, somehow she suspected he wasn't looking for a short autobiography from them.

"Thanks for that Granger, I didn't know you cared about me," Malfoy said, startling her.

He was back in the seat across from her, studying her carefully.

"Leave me alone so I can write this stupid essay and we'll call it even, don't mention it, ever!"

Draco smiled, "You know, you don't have to write the essay, he just wants an excuse to make sure you don't actually use this time to study, he won't give you another detention just because you didn't write it."

"Maybe he won't give you a detention, but we all know, your Godfather isn't exactly a fan of mine," Hermione said, leaning her chin in her hand.

"You saw how we treat each other, he's likely to give me a detention whether I write it or not. He usually comes up with some reason or another. So don't write it, it doesn't matter."

"Well, I'm going to write it anyways, if a professor gives me an assignment, I'm doing it. So now if there is nothing else you want, kindly leave me be," Hermione asked, picking up the quill.

Malfoy stood up and closed the door again, whispering about wanting privacy as he went back over to the chair he vacated just a moment ago. He laid his head on the desk and watched Granger scribble on the parchment. A silence took over the room for a moment, everyone lost in their thoughts. It wasn't long before a light humming filled the room, everyone turning to see Luna nodding her head, her eyes closed.

"Uh, Lovegood, could you maybe, not hum please?" Cho asked quietly.

Luna opened her eyes and stared at her fellow Ravenclaw for a moment, "Oh, I didn't know you could hear that, I was lost in my thoughts."

"Well, it was a pretty song," Cedric said, trying to give the strange girl a compliment. Cho glared at him, suspicious of his compliments; he just shrugged and turned forward again.

"Heh, looks like Chang doesn't appreciate Loony's humming, Why is that?" the Slytherin asked.

"Oh be quiet Malfoy, just because we're both in Ravenclaw, doesn't mean we're friends" Cho spat out, refusing to look at the blonde witch at the back of the classroom.

Draco smirked, "So, you spend more time with the popular Hufflepuff, who has a girlfriend by the way, than you do with one of your Housemates? That just seems rather rude, if you ask me."

"Well then it's a good thing no one asked you, you slimy snake."

Hermione huffed, looking up from her parchment, "Can we all just get back to writing please, I don't think it would go over well if Professor Snape has to come in here a second time."

The next hour passed by in relative silence, everyone trying to find something to keep them entertained. Draco wandered the classroom, pulling the spare cauldrons down from the shelves and putting them in a pile behind the door; Luna went back to humming and dancing in her chair, although she was quieter than before. Cho and Cedric whispered to each other, wondering if they should go to the party that Hufflepuff was throwing that night. Hermione of course, was bent over the table, trying to put together the essay, but she only had a few sentences on the parchment.

It wasn't long before Hermione slammed her head onto the desk, frustrated with herself; how hard was it to write an essay? Draco continued to wander around the classroom, looking for other stuff he could play with. He had already tried to get into the ingredient cabinet, but it was locked of course. Apparently Snape wasn't dumb enough to leave it unlocked again, not after what happened on Tuesday. Cho and Cedric had given up on conversation and had their heads on the desk, trying to take a nap. Luna had given up on the humming and was instead drawing a picture on a spare bit of parchment. In the quiet room, everyone's energy just dropped, Hermione never picked her head up from the table, Luna eventually draped her arm over the table, resting her cheek on it comfortably while finishing her drawing. Even Draco got tired of wandering around the room and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. As everyone got comfortable, Snape chose that moment to check on them.

He could have growled when he saw that they had closed the door again, in fact he did growl when he found out they had barricaded the door. Snape pulled his wand out from his robes and blasted the door inward; he heard the metal clangs as the cauldrons flew through the room. When he entered the room, he took in everyone's appearance; they had all jumped from the loud noise but he could tell by their bleary eyes that they had been sleeping. He scowled at them all, this wasn't naptime, he'd have to check on them more often if they were going to sleep through their detention.

"Draco, you'll be joining me next Saturday for another detention! Now get up and go back to your seat."

"Why am I getting another detention?" Draco groaned.

"Because, someone decided to barricade the door shut, and you are the only one out of your seat. Any other questions Mister Malfoy?"

"You've got nothing better to do than waste my time, slimeball," Draco muttered darkly as he stood up.

Snape looked down his nose at his unruly Godson, "What was that?"

Draco just shrugged his shoulders and walked over to his spot across from Granger, straddling the chair again so his back was to the Professor.

"Mister Malfoy, unless you want to be joining me for a third Saturday, you'll be going to your original seat," Snape suggested menacingly.

Draco stood up and whirled around, "You wouldn't do that you old git, Slytherin has a match that weekend. You wouldn't given me a detention, then I couldn't play!"

"Well, I guess you'll find that I will, because you just earned that detention, you'll be here with me, anything else?"

Cho looked over at the arrogant blonde, "Yea Malfoy, keep going, then maybe you'll get kicked off the team and someone with actual talent will get to play."

"Shut up Chang, no one asked you!" Draco yelled.

"Mister Malfoy, take your seat! And no talking Miss Chang, focus on your own paper."

Draco stormed up to his Head of House and glared at him, "Take back that detention, I refuse to lose to Gryffindor just because you keep meddling with my life!"

Hermione stood up then, "Malfoy, just sit down, stop this!"

Snape regarded the Gryffindor for a moment before turning back to Draco, "For once, you should listen to Miss Know-It-All, sit down now before I give you a fourth. And sit down Miss Granger!"

Hermione ignored him and stared at Draco, silently pleading with him to take his seat; the Slytherin looked at her, confused. Why was she trying to help him again? With one last insult thrown over his shoulder, he stomped back to his original desk and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Looks to me like you really want that detention, so you've got it; now if anyone else wants a detention, speak up now," Snape ordered, looking around the room. When he was satisfied that they were all going to stay quiet, he turned to walk out of the room. He stopped outside the door, looking at the mess; with a sigh he swished his wand and the cauldrons all flew back to the shelves. He left the door on the floor, at least this way they couldn't shut it anymore, he'd fix it later.

As soon as Snape was out of sight, Cedric turned and looked at the Slytherin, "Geez Malfoy, what was that all about?"

He didn't answer, instead he sulked at his table, refusing to look at anyone, Cedric looked at Cho, wondering if they should say anything. She just shrugged her shoulders and turned forward, lying down again; she didn't want to get involved in any of Malfoy's drama. Hermione sighed quietly, Malfoy was a huge pain in her side, but she always wondered, why did he act like that? Just then he looked up and noticed her staring at him with a sad expression.

"What are you looking at Mudblood, be a good student and finish your paper," he snarled. When her cheeks flushed and her gaze turned into a glare, he was satisfied; Draco hated when people looked at him like that, he didn't need their pity. He especially didn't need any pity from her, stupid girl should just mind her own business. Picking up the quill, he started writing out angry sentences on the parchment, he already had the next few weekends with Snape, he didn't have much to lose at this point. When the crazy girl started humming again, he couldn't help but turn to look at her, she was definitely living in her own special world. For a moment, Draco wondered what she had done to end up in Saturday detention with the rest of them.

Time passed slowly for everyone; Cho and Cedric went back to whispering, neither had picked up their quills once, Luna had started some sort of dance in her seat, Draco thought she was having some sort of attack honestly. Hermione had taken a break from working on the essay, instead she had pulled her Ancient Runes book out of her bag and was working on homework. After writing out a lot of useless sentences, Draco took to wandering the room again, wondering what else he could get into.

Cho sighed loudly, forgetting there were other people in the room, "I don't know why my dad pushes me so hard to do well in school, I've got Quidditch right?"

"Complete opposite of my dad, he relishes in all my Quidditch successes, he embarrasses me all the time."

Draco scoffed, "Oh boohoo, your parents want you to try hard. They just want to be able to brag to all their stupid friends about how their kid is so much better. Get over it."

"Shut up Malfoy, just because your dad is in prison doesn't mean we have to take pity on you," Cho stated.

Cedric looked at her, "That was uncalled for, don't say things like that."

"No, it's fine Diggory, I don't need you standing up for me, she can say whatever she wants. Clearly she gets along with her parents so well."

Luna stood up and wandered closer to the group, ""Wrackspurts but be all over this room, too bad I don't have Spectrespecs."

Cho glanced at her Housemate, "Why are you so weird?"

Luna opened her mouth the say something but then Draco interrupted, "Snape's coming, careful."

He and Luna quickly went back to their seats and Hermione stuffed her book back in her bag as Snape's footsteps came closer, everyone trying to look bored. As Snape came into view, he poked his head into the dungeon, making sure no one was asleep. Satisfied with what he saw, he walked away without a word, heading back towards his office.

"Nice save," Cedric said, looking back towards the Slytherin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an fyi, I've noticed that my spelling of Nargles changes throughout my story... XD Most of them should be Nargles and not Nargals... but I might miss a few, sorry about that. Just wanted to let you know XD


	3. Breaking the Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group spends their time getting to know each other a bit, with a lot of snark thrown in, then it's time for lunch

Draco nodded his head and made his way over to the Gryffindor, "So, Granger, how is your relationship with your parents?"

"Just fine thank you," Hermione responded, eyes not leaving her homework.

"God, you're sure a goody two-shoes, I'm surprised you even got detention."

Cedric spoke up, "Maybe she's just covering for her friends, they seem more likely to get in trouble than her."

"Right, I'm too good to get in any trouble of my own," Hermione laughed, recalling all the trouble she'd gotten in since coming to Hogwarts. She looked up at Malfoy when he laughed with her, raising her eyebrow at him.

"You must be every parent's dream child! Little Miss Perfect, always doing her best, that's so overrated Granger." He stood up, smiling around the room, imitating what he thought the Granger house must be like on the holidays.

"Oh my little girl is home again, how wonderful. Please tell us how awesome you did in school this year!" he spoke in a deep voice, pretending to be her dad. Then in a higher pitched voice, "Oh yes please tell us everything, we're so proud of you! And then you can come help me make cookies and we'll all have a great time."

Cedric laughed, agreeing that Granger's house must be pretty normal, what parents wouldn't want to have a smart child? Cho just snickered into her goblet, if Granger's life was really like that, it must suck to be her; but then again, Granger really was such a goody two-shoes, her home life must be very boring.

Luna spoke up, "Every parent has their own expectations, it's not very appropriate to generalize."

"Yea, she's right, I mean I'm obviously not your parent's dream child, being a Mudblood and all," Hermione scoffed, looking pointedly at Malfoy.

Cho pointed at Draco, "Well, care to tell us about your family life then Malfoy, if you're so eager to share hers?"

Draco glared at the dark haired girl, "You don't want to know about what happens at my house Chang, it would give you nightmares."

Cho scoffed, his was always trying to act so big and bad, but he was such a fake. Draco bristled at her noise, realizing that he was being blown off.

"Do you really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you," he spat out, standing up straighter and lowering his voice. "'So Draco, tell me, what have you done to disappoint us this year?' 'I got great scores in all my classes, 2nd in my class' 'Damn it, did you let that filthy Mudblood beat you again? What have I told you?' 'I did my best Father' 'Crucio.'"

The room was quiet as Draco stood there, breathing hard, no one knew what to say to him, did that really happen to him?

"So yea Granger, that little detail of your blood status, that's the only thing holding you back you know. Too bad there is nothing you can do about it, you'll always be a Mudblood."

Cedric stood up and walked towards them, "Stop talking to her like that Malfoy, she's better than you'll ever be. Go back to your seat and leave the rest of us alone. Don't take your problems out on her."

Draco stayed at Granger's table, "Look at Diggory, trying to be the hero, standing up for poor defenseless witches everywhere. But I doubt you really care about her, do you even know her middle name? Bet you don't."

Cedric blushed, he didn't know her middle name, he had no reason too, it wasn't like they were friends. They didn't even have any classes together, but he did know who she was, everyone at Hogwarts did. Hermione Granger, best student to grace these halls in years.

"Shut up Malfoy, who are you to talk, it's not like you even know her first name," Cho shot out, pulling Cedric back to their table.

Luna looked between Cho and Hermione, her singsong voice breaking the awkward silence "Is having a middle name important? I don't have one, hmm I'll have to ask Father about that."

"Not everyone has one Luna, don't feel bad about it. And then there are people that have two middle names, it just depends on the parents," Hermione explained, not wanting the other girl to feel self conscious.

"Heh, typical Granger, having a response for everything," Cedric said, smiling good-naturedly.

Draco sat down in the chair across from Granger, speaking up quietly, "I do know her first name, I know her full name thank you very much!"

Hermione's brows shot up, Draco Malfoy knew her full name? He had to be bluffing, there was no way he'd know that. Apparently Cho and Cedric felt the same way because they both let out a snort of disbelief, looking at the back of his head as he sat there facing Hermione. He was looking at her with a strange expression on his face, she wasn't sure exactly how she felt about it. When he bit his lip, Hermione realized he was nervous, why was he nervous?

She looked into his eyes and whispered, "Do you really know my name?"

He looked away, hands fidgeting on the desk, but after a moment he nodded shyly. Hermione couldn't help herself, she smiled at him, wondering how long he had known; she didn't think for a moment that he was bluffing, not after seeing his shy reaction.

"Oh please, he's such a liar," Cho interrupted, crossing her arms.

"Whatever, I don't care if you don't believe me, I don't have to prove anything to you guys," Draco scoffed.

Angrily he stood up and marched to the desk furthest away from them, not wanting to be near anyone. Everyone settled down again, not wanting to argue and get Snape's attention. Hermione looked at her watch, it was almost noon surprisingly, lunch would be soon. At the thought of food, her stomach growled, loudly. Her cheeks flushed red, knowing that everyone heard it; the low chuckle from Malfoy's desk definitely let her know he had heard. But he didn't have long to gloat, his stomach growled as well, as if responding to her stomach, a pink tinge rising on his cheeks. He laughed again, self consciously, wishing that his stomach hadn't betrayed him like that. Snape better come in soon to tell them to eat their lunches.

To answer their prayers, Snape appeared right at noon, glancing briefly at Draco's seat change again. He ordered them to pull out their lunches and eat, they were expected to clean up and not make a mess. When Cedric asked if they could have anything to drink, Snape conceded, realizing those hadn't been packed by the elves.

"Lovegood, Chang, go down to the kitchens and get some goblets and a water pitcher, hurry up," Snape ordered before leaving the room again.

Cho sighed as she stood up, waiting for Luna to join her; this was sure to be an awkward trip, she had nothing in common with the blonde girl. Together they left the dungeon and made their way to the kitchen, no sound except the click of shoes on the floor. After a moment, Cho realized she only heard one pair of shoes; she looked down to notice that the girl beside her wasn't wearing shoes.

"Um, Luna, where are your shoes?"she asked the younger witch.

"The Nargles hid them again, they hide a lot of my things," Luna answered matter-of-factly.

Cho flushed, she realized now that this was the girl that everyone stole stuff from; she regularly heard about all the strange things Luna talked about and how other Ravenclaws would play these pranks on her. But she was only just now realizing how this affected the young girl walking with her. Cho knew that she was missing more than just her shoes, a lot of her possessions had been 'borrowed' by some of Cho's friends and hidden throughout the school.

"Wh-why do you think that Nargles took your things?" Cho asked.

"Well because I'm always looking for them, and telling people about their secrets. They don't appreciate that, so they hide my things. But I always get them back eventually," Luna explained, smiling at the older witch.

Cho bit her lip, this girl seemed so innocent, why did people pick on her all the time? Sure she was a little strange, talking about things like Nargles and what not but, she didn't deserve to be missing things. Cho was going to say something but they had arrived at the kitchens, the elves crowded around them asking what they needed. In just a few moments, they had five goblets and two pitchers of water, enchanted to automatically refill. After thanking the elves, Cho and Luna made their way back to the dungeon; Cho was wondering how to tell Luna the truth.

*Back in the Dungeon*

Hermione kept to herself, working steadily on her homework, doing her best to ignore the growls from her stomach; she'd be able to eat once the Ravenclaws came back with some water. Draco sighed loudly from his chair, bored; Cedric turned back and glared at him, tired of his antics. The Slytherin saw the look on the Hufflepuff's face and decided to engage him in conversation.

"So, Diggory, now that Chang is gone, let's be honest with each other, are you doing her on the side?"

Cedric blushed, choosing to ignore the question. Hermione responded instead, "It's rude to ask questions like that Malfoy"

"But aren't you even a little curious? I mean, Diggory is the man, popular, nice, pretty, the girls love him. So why can't he have a girl on the side?"

"I'm not like that," Cedric whispered, looking down at his hands.

"Sure you aren't, go on tell us the truth, we'll keep it a secret, I promise," Draco said, placing his hand over his heart.

Cedric looked Malfoy in the eyes, "I have a girlfriend and I'm loyal to her, that's it. Cho and I are just kinda friends now, but we don't talk much. So it's nice to talk with her every now and again."

"See Malfoy, there is nothing dirty going on, leave Cedric alone," Hermione cut in, looking up from her homework.

Draco looked between the two, eyes widening, "Oh, is Granger standing up for 'Cedric'? Do you fancy him? I bet you do, I bet you wish he was sitting next to you instead of Chang."

Hermione blushed heavily, not looking back at the Hufflepuff, "I'm standing up for him because it's rude to butt into other people's business."

Draco smiled at her, "Right, then how come he's 'Cedric' and not 'Diggory'?"

"Um, because, well," Hermione floundered, unsure of what to say.

"Yea, keep that in mind Granger, he doesn't call you by your first name now does he?"

Hermione just glared at him and furiously turned back to her homework, keeping her head down; she didn't notice the curious look that Cedric gave her. They were quite until the other two returned; as soon as Cho and Luna got back to the group, they passed around the goblets and put the pitchers up on the front desk. Every got some water and settled down in their seats, pulling out the packed lunches the elves had prepared for them.

"I'm glad we got to order our lunch for today," Cho said, "I would have starved if I had to go without lunch."

Cedric bit his lip, trying not to laugh as he watched her pull out her lunch, she had asked the elves to pack quite the lunch. There was a banana, some carrots, two sandwiches, some broccoli, and a bowl of pudding. Cedric had settled for an apple, a helping of roast, some carrots, and a roll. Draco was amazed at the amount of food the dark haired Ravenclaw pulled out of her bag, how could one person eat that much for lunch? Shaking his head, he quietly pulled out his lunch, only consisting of a green apple and some chips (fries). Since he was once again sitting near Granger, he looked at what she had asked the elves to pack her. She had a helping of sliced peaches, a sandwich and chips, very simple. He nodded his head in approval, at least she wasn't prone to strange meals.

At the thought of strange, he glanced over at the last member of their group, nose crinkling as he saw what Lovegood had brought. The look on his face caught Hermione's attention, so she looked over at the other girl as well, letting out a small squeak of surprise, alerting the others to the spectacle. Everyone was watching her as she pulled apart her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then she pulled out a few slices of bacon and put it into the sandwich. Lastly, she pulled out a handful of sugar packets, opening them all and pouring them over the bacon. Luna hummed as she put the sandwich back together and took a bite, eyes closing in bliss. As she opened her eyes, she noticed everyone staring at her, repulsed looks on their faces; she just smiled at them and took another bite, not bothered by their thoughts.

Slowly everyone turned back to their own meals and ate quietly, Draco watching as Hermione worked on her homework while she ate. Cedric thought about talking with Cho but she was happily stuffing her face, offhandedly mentioning that she had to eat so many calories per meal to keep up her weight. So Cedric kept to himself as he ate, occasionally sneaking glances back at Lovegood, wondering how she could eat something with so many different flavors at once. There was crinkling noises now and then when someone threw their lunch bag away. Hermione stood up to get some more water, drawing attention to herself; she tried to ignore the look from Cedric, he had no reason to be looking at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the events in the story differ from the movie, I just don't want it to be exactly the same so some things happen out of order, just to mix it up =) plus things obviously have to be different b.c they are living at a magical school during the year. I just kinda made up some lunches for them, sticking with the 'athlete' having a large appetite and the 'basket-case' doing something weird, other than that I wasn't sure what a typical lunch might have been, I'm not British... so I hope it isn't too weird. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, thank you for reading!


	4. A Short Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco invites the gang out to go on a quick adventure, and against their better judgement, they all tag along.

They sat in silence some more, wishing time would go by faster; suddenly Draco stood up, an idea running through his head.

"Hey, hey Granger, want to go for an adventure?"

"Excuse me? I really don't want another detention Malfoy," she sighed, looking at the blond.

"Oh come on, have a little fun, live a little!" Draco said, leaning out the open door and checking the hallway. "

"Snape usually heads to lunch about this time, he always waits for the students to be done. Let's go, he won't catch us."

Luna perked up, "We're going for a walk, that sounds like fun."

"Ah, see, Lovegood is up for it, let's go, hell, even Chang and Cedric can come if it pleases them. I'm supposed to meet up with Blaise and I won't be late just because of some stupid detention."

Hermione looked over at Cho and Cedric and to her surprise, they were standing up and looking like they wanted to go. She bit her lip, wondering if she should go along with them; it would look bad if she was the only one left here when everyone left. In fact, she could hear Snape's voice in her head, calling her a good little student, but with the way he said it, it wasn't a compliment. Looking up she locked eyes with Malfoy, could see the challenge in his eyes. She closed her book and tucked it away in her bag, and stood up, nodding her head, "Let's go then."

"Alright, I knew you had a bad streak in ya Granger, let's go," Draco said, winking at her.

They all quietly walked out of the dungeon classroom, nervously checking behind them every few steps. Draco sauntered away, not caring if they followed him at this point. The group made their way towards the Great Hall, turning down a quiet corridor and passing dark classrooms. Just as the group rounded the corner, they found Blaise leaning up against the wall, arms crossed. The tall wizard raised his brows at the sight of the rag-tag group.

"What's this Draco, making new friends?"

Draco shrugged, "I invited them along, we were all in detention so I figured we could have some fun. Did you get it?"

"Of course, have I ever let you down?"Blaise drawled, shaking his head lightly. He reached into his robes and pulled out a large bottle of Firewhiskey, holding it out for Draco to take. But as Draco reached for it, he pulled it back, just out of reach, shaking his head.

"Oh come on, I paid you for it, hand it over Blaise."

"No, not quite, you see, this is a bigger bottle than what you paid me for, all I could find. So, you owe me a little bit more."

Draco groaned, "It's not my fault you bought something bigger than what I specified."

Blaise just shrugged and pushed away from the wall, he put the bottle back in his robe and started walking away.

"Alright fine, you win you bloody arsehole," Draco grumbled, reaching into his robes and digging out some money; he tossed the coins at Blaise with a scowl on his face.

Blaise caught them and smiled, pulling the bottle out again, "You're going to thank me later, looks like you have people to share it with anyways."

Blaise walked past them, pushing the bottle into his friend's hand; Hermione gaped at Malfoy, they had risked everything just so he could get a bottle of booze from his friend? But before she could start berating the blond, they heard Blaise speaking up from around the corner.

"Oh, hi Professor Snape, how are you?"

"Fine Zabini, don't forget about that Potions essay," they heard Snape respond.

Everyone's eyes went wide, he must already be done with his lunch, but if he was on his way back to his office, he would see that none of them were in detention. There weren't any shortcuts that would bring them to the classroom before Snape, Hermione let out a distressed noise, burying her head in her hands; she was dead.

"Look now Malfoy, Snape is going to find out we're gone," Cho whispered angrily, peering around the corner.

Cedric rested his hand on her shoulder, "Calm down, there has to be a way to beat him back to the dungeons, right?"

Luna shook her head, "I've explored the castle a lot, I don't know of any other passages. Maybe he's not going back to his office."

"He always goes back to his office, he has nothing better to do than think of homework for everyone. Here, hold this, I'll be right back," Draco ordered, pushing the bottle into Cedric's robes.

"Draco, where are you going?" Hermione whispered, eyes wide.

He just smiled at the witch, "I'm going to go save your skins, don't waste this alright?"

And with that he took off towards Blaise, who was still standing in the hallway waiting for Snape to walk out of sight. As Draco came up to his friend, Blaise tried to wave him away but the blonde kept coming.

"Hey Blaise, how goes it? Let's go do something, I just got out of detention, you know, good behavior and all that," he exclaimed, a little loudly.

Snape heard his Godson's voice and immediately turned around, a terrifying glint in his eyes. He quickly strode back to the pair, but Draco had been prepared, "Well, time to run, see ya Blaise."

He took off running down the corridor, serpintining to dodge any spells the professor cast his way. Hermione watched as Snape rushed past their hiding spot, not even looking their way; the look on his face made her genuinely worry for his safety. Blaise pulled them all out of their shocked silence, beckoning them to run; he wasn't going to let his friend's actions be for nothing. Cedric was the first to react, grabbing Cho's hand and running towards the dungeon. Cho turned and reached out, grabbing Luna's hand, not wanting her fellow Ravenclaw to get left behind either. Hermione took off after them, cursing herself for letting Snape get the better of her. If it wasn't for him calling her names all the time, she wouldn't feel the need to prove herself to Draco. Within minutes they were back in the dungeon, panting and bent over; Luna was laughing lightly, having enjoyed the slight danger. Quickly they all returned to their seats and picked up their quills, letting their heart rates slow back down; trying to look like they weren't trying to look innocent. Before long they heard the sounds of Draco struggling and calling out nasty names; Snape had finally caught up with him.

They all looked up as he was pushed into the room, ropes tied around his torso, a very angry look on his face. Snape pushed him towards his desk and undid the ropes, "Get your things. You will be spending the rest of your detention with me, in my office. As for the rest of you, keep working. Don't get any ideas, I'll continue to check up on you. Let's go Draco."

Hermione bit her lip as he walked by, he was getting in a lot of trouble, just to keep them out of it. At first she supposed it was because they had covered for him when he closed the door, but this was a lot more than that. They kept their heads down as he packed up his things and marched back to the front of the classroom. He threw a wave over his shoulder as Snape lead him out, looking back to see Hermione looking at him; he offered her a small smile.

"Now what? I've got Firewhiskey in my robes, what if Snape finds it?" Cedric whimpered, looking at Cho with wide eyes.

"Just don't give him a reason to search you and it will be fine, as far as he knows we all stayed here and Malfoy was the only one to leave." Cho responded, leaning forward onto the desk.

The group sat in a stunned silence, not really understanding why Malfoy had given himself up, especially when he did it on his own, no one had pushed him to take the fall. Hermione sat doodling on her paper, unable to focus, Cedric was startting to sweat nervously and kept looking to the door, ready for Snape to bust him at any moment. Luna was back to looking around the room for whatever, and Cho kept glancing back at her, trying to figure out what she was doing.

It wasn't long before Professor Snape walked in and eyed them all, "I'll be attending a faculty meeting. I expect there to be no more rules being broken, now that the worst troublemaker is on his own. If I hear of any funny business going on in here, you will all receive a month's worth of detention working with the house elves!"

They all managed a nod before he turned and left them alone; they all looked at each other, figuring this was some sort of trick. They remained frozen until they heard a crashing noise coming from Snape's office. Hermione ran to the door and looked out in the hallway, wondering what had caused the noise. Just then, Snape's office door opened and Draco popped his head out, smiling over at the witch. He quickly closed the door behind him and ran over to Hermione, ducking back into the classroom.

"Boy you guys sure are boring without me aren't you?" Draco kidded, walking over to Cedric and reaching in his robes to take back his bottle.

Cedric jumped at the unexpected contact, pushing back from the desk and standing up, "What are you doing?"

Draco held up his bottle, shaking it slightly, "I'm going to be having fun, what does it look like?"

"You can't get drunk in detention Malfoy! Are you insane?" Cedric whispered furiously.

"Now, that's just rude Cedric, I was going to offer you some. But now, I don't know," he muttered, slowly walking away. Instead he turned back towards Hermione, who was still standing at the door. "What do you say Granger? You up for a little fun?"

Hermione blushed and looked away, "I-I've never had Firewhiskey before."

Draco pushed himself up on the front desk, nearest her, and patted the spot next to him, "Wanna give it a try?"

Hermione looked over at him, biting her lip nervously, was he really offering to share his whiskey with her in detention?

"Come on Granger, I won't bite… unless of course you want me to," he chuckled, winking at her before raising the bottle.

"Come off it Malfoy, like she's going to drink with a prat like you," Cho smirked, standing up, challenging the Slytherin.

But Draco wasn't rising to the bait, if Granger wanted to drink with him, he'd be sure to have a good time, but he'd have a good time even if she decided not to. Luna danced a little closer to the group, wanting to understand the dynamics a little better.

"Cho, why do you not want Hermione to make friends with Draco?" Luna asked, looking at the older Ravenclaw.

"Because no one wants to be friends with a Slytherin except other snakes, so why would Granger be friends with some jerk that teases her all the time?"

"People are allowed to make their own decisions," Luna stated, smiling over at Hermione.

Draco and Hermione both appraised the blonde girl, Hermione sparing a glance at Cho, wondering what she'd say next.

"Sure, we can all make our own choices, but who would really choose that," she asked, pointing at Malfoy with a look of disdain on her face.

Draco tried to hide the hurt look that crossed his face, but Hermione saw it, just for a second; that, combined with the nasty attitude that Cho was exuding, pushed Hermione to her choice. If Draco was willing to share his whiskey with her, and all without calling her a derogatory name; so she walked over to the desk and sat on the table near him, face red.

"That's the spirit! Let's have some fun," Draco smiled, handing the bottle over, "Want some Lovegood?"

"No thank you, not right now," Luna smiled, sitting down at one of the desks. But before any of them could celebrate, they heard footsteps running down the hallway. They froze, unsure of what to do.


	5. Kicking Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students have a scare as Snape comes back by the room, then Draco has a little fun as he teases Hermione. Then they all decide to have a little fun and crack open the bottle of whiskey. Talk starts to get a little serious after a bit.

Blaise popped his head into the classroom, "Snape's coming back, he forgot something in his office."

Then he just disappeared, not wanting to get caught by their Head of House; after a moment of shocked silence, there was a mad scramble as everyone went back to their original desks. All except Draco, he looked around like a cornered rabbit, eyes wide and face pale. As he heard another set of footsteps he dove under the nearest desk, running into Hermione's legs. Before she could protest, Snape strode by the classroom, not even glancing in; realizing she was holding the bottle, she quickly tucked it into her robes. They heard him enter his office, Hermione trying to focus on her paper, not wanting to give away the wizard under her feet. It wasn't long before Snape came out of his office, closing the door again, but this time he stopped in to check on the students. Hermione stifled a gasp when she felt warm fingers caressing her calf; she tried to kick Draco but he easily grabbed her ankle and stilled her motions. He continued to run his fingers up her leg, rubbing small circles along the inside of her knee. Hermione could feel her face turning red, praying that Snape wouldn't notice and comment on it.

Snape walked further into the classroom, scrutinizing everyone, wanting them to feel self-conscious. Hopefully with Draco out of the room, they would all behave; but for some reason they all looked beyond nervous. As he walked around the room, he noted that Chang still had a completely blank scroll in front of her, Diggory as well.

"I see some of you still haven't managed to write anything, I suggest you get busy, you only have 3 more hours."

Cho managed a meek nod and picked up her quill; Cedric couldn't keep still in his seat, he knew that Snape was going to find Malfoy. But luckily for him, Snape's eyes were on Hermione.

"Miss Granger, are you alright?" he asked, eye brow raised.

She mumbled a quiet yes, not looking at him, afraid he'd see something in her eyes. When Draco planted a quick kiss on the inside of her ankle, she bit down hard on her lip. He continued to tease her by running his hands up as she smooth skin far as he dared, just to the hem of her skirt; he grinned widely when he felt her muscles tense up, legs locked together.

Snape took a few steps closer to her, causing her to jump, she couldn't let him find Malfoy hiding under her desk. The look on his face told her that he really didn't believe she was fine. Wracking her brain, she came up with a quick lie, hoping he wouldn't question it.

"Really Professor I'm fine, I'm just you know, cramping…" she trailed off, quickly looking down at her desk like she was embarrassed.

It seemed to work, Snape's face went from disbelief to polite confusion; but he stepped away from her, "Well if it gets bad, go see Madame Pomfrey after detention."

She watched as he walked away, letting out a quiet breath of relief; maybe she had been hanging out with Harry and Ron for too long, lying was becoming too easy. Snape left the room without another word, clearly expecting them to behave; Hermione dropped her head onto the desk. Without realizing it, she relaxed her whole body, her knees falling slightly apart; Draco took quick advantage. He leaned forward and licked up the inside of her thigh, hands hooked under her knees; Hermione sat straight up, letting out a high pitched whine, with his hands holding her knees, she couldn't stand. Everyone jumped at her reaction, eyes wide as they looked over at her even darker face.

"Draco!" she whispered darkly, trying to scoot her chair back.

She felt him smirk against her thigh, the fact that she had used his first name didn't go unnoticed. Before responding, he gave her thigh a quick nip, causing her to jump, then he released her legs. Hermione pushed her chair back and stood up, reaching under the desk to pull the wizard out. He was chuckling at her reaction, if she had kept quiet, no one would have known; but he knew he'd get a reaction out of her and it was even better than he had anticipated.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "So I'm 'Draco' now am I? Let me know if you ever want me to continue, Hermione."He reached up, one hand tucking her hair behind her ear, and the other casually reached into her robes. His fingers brushed against her stomach and he could feel her trembling next to him, he rubbed his lips against her ear, whispering her name again.

Hermione shivered, she cursed her body for reacting to him, there was no reason for her to be like putty in his hands. But before she could open her mouth to try and protest, she was saved by Cedric and Cho.

"Alright, enough!" Cho called out, gagging for effect.

"Malfoy, get your hands off of her," Cedric added, pushing away from the desk.

Draco sighed heavily, pulling away from her face, "What, she had my whiskey," he explained, pulling his hand out of her robes, revealing the whiskey. But when he looked back at the witch next to him, he licked his lips, he wanted to see more of her.

Hermione collapsed back into her chair, unsure of how to react; she should feel repulsed ad gross, but she wasn't. Instead, she still felt the burning, tingling sensation along her thighs, recalling his tongue running up her skin. Why did he do that? Wasn't he disgusted by her heritage? When she looked up at the blonde wizard still standing in front of her, she wanted to question him, but instead she surprised him by yanking the bottle out of his hands. Twisting off the top, she took a small swig, holding in the cough as it burned a trail down her throat; her eyes watered and she fanned her face.

"Alright Hermione! Looks like someone is ready to party," Draco cheered, taking the bottle from her and drinking some himself.

Hermione held her hand out for the bottle again, "That was mean, by the way."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean, honest," he replied, handing her the Firewhiskey. He enjoyed the look on her face as she tried really hard to ignore the burn of alcohol, it made him remember the first time he had drank this stuff.

"Well, we have 3 more hours in here, let's have some fun," Draco announced, raising a brow at the others in the room, wondering if they wanted to join in.

After a moment, Cho emptied her goblet and walked over, silently holding it for the Slytherin to fill. He smiled at her as he poured some liquid in her cup, the more the merrier as far as he was concerned. Once Cho cracked, Cedric sighed and came over as well with his goblet. Might as well make it a party right? Luna joined them, pulling up chairs for everyone so they'd at least all be sitting.

Everyone gave Cho a wide-eyed look as she gulped down some whiskey, not even making a face; clearly she'd done this before. Cedric on the other hand, immediately broke out in a coughing fit, unable to handle his first sip.

"This looks like a lot of fun, I suppose I'll have some too," Luna commented, holding out her hand for the bottle.

Hermione shrugged and handed it over, no reason to deny the Ravenclaw; they all watched as she carefully held the bottle to her nose as sniffed it.

"I find that if you know how strong something smells before you drink it, it won't hit you as hard," she explained before taking a small sip. She swallowed and let out a small cough, never having drank anything that strong before. "That's different, but I like it."

Cho beamed at the blonde girl, happy to see her joining in; Hermione clapped her hands, cheering Luna on to take another sip. As the group warmed up to each other, Draco finally pulled up a chair, sitting next to Hermione, casually throwing his arm over the back of her seat. Luna was sitting on Hermione's other side, Cho and Cedric were both seated across the table. Luna put the bottle on the desk, so everyone could easily reach it, even though the older students preferred to drink out of their own glasses.

"So, Hermione, what do you think? Good stuff right?" Draco asked, reaching for the bottle again.

She grinned, already relaxing since everyone was drinking some, "It's definitely different, but I might like it."

"Sounds to me like you might need some more, it really grows on you. Just don't overdo it like I did, then you'll end up hating it for awhile," he explained, waving the bottle in front of her, egging her to have some more.

She gave in easily, wanting to have fun, Hermione usually felt out of place when she was in a room with people she didn't really know. But surprisingly, she was feeling alright by herself, without Ron or Harry here. No doubt, if they were here, things would be a lot more tense and she'd be stuffed between them protectively. As she took another drink, she looked over at Draco to see him watching her. When she swallowed, she licked her lips, suddenly aware of his hand gently brushing her shoulder.

"So, Malfoy, why did you have your friend go out and buy you whiskey?"

"I just felt like kicking back, something wrong with that Chang?"

"Nope, at least not since you are sharing with us," Cho admitted, taking another sip from her goblet.

The room started to relax as everyone drank more of the whiskey, Cedric and Luna were both smiling and laughing, even Cho lightened up. Suddenly Luna stood up, surprising everyone.

"I really want to dance, right now," she chimed, moving some of the desks out of the way. "Come on, let's dance," she laughed as she grabbed Cho's hand and pulled her to her feet.

Cedric cheered them on as Luna started to sway, Cho taking a few moments to loosen up; Luna grabbed the other girl's hands and spun her in a circle, the two of them laughing.

"Alright, now I want to do it," Hermione admitted, jumping up from her chair. She looked at the two boys wondering if they were going to join in.

Draco paused for just a moment before he stood up and joined the girls on the floor, they were all here to have a good time so it wouldn't hurt anyone's reputation. Within moments, Cho started singing a song from the Weird Sisters's latest album, Hermione instantly joined in. It wasn't long before Cedric drained the last of his whiskey and jumped into the fray. As they continued to sing, they kicked their feet and twisted their hips, everyone forgetting the rest of the world for a moment.

After a few more songs, Cho collapsed into her seat, laughing and trying to catch her breath; who knew that Luna had such a nice voice? She watched as the younger Ravenclaw continued to dance, waving her hands gently through the air as she twirled around the floor. Cho realized that Luna almost seemed to float, like she didn't need the ground at all; there was a radiance about her that Cho had never noticed before. When Cedric dropped down next to her, she was pulled out of her reverie; a blush rose on her cheeks when she fully realized what she had been thinking about. Luckily Cedric seemed completely oblivious to her predicament though, much to the girl's relief.

"So, Cho, how have things been for you lately?" Cedric asked as he poured himself another round.

"Well, alright I suppose, considering I'm in detention," the dark haired beauty replied.

"What does that mean," Hermione asked as she returned to the table, genuinely curious.

Cho just shrugged, not really wanted to get into things with people she didn't really know. But then Luna took the seat next to her and patted her hand warmly.

"Not everything has is expected to be going perfectly, otherwise Life would be pretty boring right?" Luna asked.

"Yea, that's true, although I'd much rather Life took a break no and then. I'm pretty worn out," Cho sighed, leaning heavily on the table.

"What's the matter Chang? It doesn't seem like things are that bad?" Malfoy cut in, wondering what had the Ravenclaw down so low.

"Just parent stuff mostly, don't expect you to get it" she replied, forgetting what he had told them earlier.

Draco just sneered and looked away, so what if she didn't believe what he had told her?

At her words, Cedric nodded understandingly, "Parents, they do have a knack for messing things up."

Hermione looked around at the table, "Does everyone here have issues with their parents sometimes?"

"Not me, other than the fact I miss my Mum sometimes," Luna piped up, looking around the table.

"Yea, pretty much Granger," Draco announced, feeling bitter all of a sudden. He took a big swig from the bottle, not wanting to say anything else.


	6. Tales of Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cho shares her story, which prompt Draco and Cedric to do the same.

When Cho felt the mood around the table, she felt like maybe she could tell them what was bothering her. She took a deep breath, "My parents want me to try harder in school."

"Is that bad?" Hermione asked after a pause, unsure of what Cho was experiencing.

"Not all of us can be like you," Cho snarled, taking her anger out on the Gryffindor. She immediately regretted it when she saw the hurt look cross Hermione's features.

"I didn't mean it like that. You're in Ravenclaw, so you are intelligent enough. I don't understand why your parents wanting you to do good makes you feel so bad," Hermione tried to articulate, wanting Cho to realize she didn't mean to imply anything.

"Sorry, I know what you meant, I just… Sorry," Cho stated, fiddling with her cup on the table. "It wasn't bad at first, but lately, they've been hounding me to quit Quidditch so I can study more."

Draco studied her carefully, there was no way she'd actually quit right? She was way too good, even if he'd never admit that out loud. Cedric also seemed to look at her with surprise, how could anyone want their kid to not play Quidditch? Luna just continued to squeeze Cho's hand, waiting for her to continue.

"Well, are your grades dropping because of it?" Hermione asked, trying to analyzing the problem. "If it's not, then what is the problem?"

"I wish they looked at it like you. I mean, my grades are quite perfect by they are decent! And they haven't taken a fall at all this year because of Quidditch."

"So tell your parents to stuff it," Draco advised, shrugging his shoulders.

"And get into another fight? Naw, been there, done that," she replied, voice flat.

"So, wait, what are they mad about?" Cedric asked, not understanding.

"Honestly… they want me to stop focusing on Quidditch because they don't think I'll ever be good enough to play on a professional team. So they figure, why bother? Then I'd have even more time to apply myself to my studies," she finally voiced, bitterness evident in her tone.

"That's not very supportive, parents are always supposed to be supportive, no matter what," Luna informed the group, clearly not understanding how Cho's parents were reacting.

Everyone at the time just looked away from Luna, not wanting to spoil her view of the world; everyone else felt quite different.

"Wait, Chang, aren't you in detention for skipping class to practice?" Draco asked, confused look on his face.

Cho tossed her hair over her shoulder, smiling at him, "Yea, I did. Just because they tell me I'm not good enough, I want to prove them wrong. And, just in case, I'll still have enough N.E.W.T.'s to get a respectable job."

"Good for you, you're here to live life for yourself," Luna said, smiling at her Housemate.

Everyone agreed with her statement, they were supposed to be looking for their own careers and lifestyles, not what their parents want!

"That's a nice sentiment Lovegood, but not everyone has that freedom," Draco suddenly spat out, deciding that someone had to burst her bubble. He wished he could have been born into the same world as her but life didn't work that way. He was still debating if he wanted to try and tell everyone about his troubles, wondering if they'd even care, but Cedric beat him to it.

"Yea, sometimes, things just suck, at least your parents agree on something Cho," Cedric started, looking down at his lap.

Hermione looked at the bottle again, if things were going to continue on this note, she might want some more, maybe then she could finally tell someone what her home life was like. At least they wouldn't overreact like Harry and Ron might. As if reading her mind, or more likely noticing her gaze, Draco soundless passed her the bottle.

The silence continued, almost as if he didn't want to continue, but no one wanted to interrupt just in case he was still thinking about it. Everyone was so focused on the silence that they didn't see Cho grasp Luna's hand, thumb massaging the girl's palm. They didn't notice how much of the whiskey Hermione drank after Draco handed her the bottle; nor did they notice the tears threatening to fall from Draco's eyes.

They all jumped when Cedric slammed his fist down onto the table, "My Mum hates me!"

"I'm sure she doesn't ha-" Cho started, but Cedric cut her off.

"No, really she does. She tells me all the time, whenever there is an opportunity, she takes it."

"How… why does she…" Hermione tried to ask, truly not understanding.

Cedric bit his lip, he felt a little better, having told his big family secret, but he didn't want them all to look at him differently after this. It wasn't until Draco spoke that he realized he really wasn't alone.

"So mate, was it something you did or did not do? And I bet it's because of something you can't fix or stop doing right? Please tell me it's not because you were born a male," Draco said, trying to loosen him up. He knew that it was probably better to speak about it than to hold it inside.

"No, she's not mad at me for that, I don't think she cared one way or the other about having a son or daughter. She's mad at me because of my Dad."

"But I've met your Dad, he seemed really nice. And very supportive, he kept talking about how you actually managed to beat Harry that year in Quidditch," Hermione started, recalling the summer before her fourth year.

"Yea, and that's the problem. All he does is talk about me, how good I am in school, what House I'm in, how awesome I am at Quidditch. My Mum blames me for his lack of affection I guess. If I wasn't so good at everything then maybe he'd actually pay her some attention."

The group stared at him, almost as if they were waiting for him to say he was kidding, or start laughing at their faces. But he never did. Instead he just drained his goblet and tossed it on the floor.

Luna noticed the desperate look on his face, "Cedric, your Mum needs help, it's really not healthy for her to be feeling that way. Does Mr. Diggory know about her feelings? I'm sure the Healers at St. Mungos could help her."

Cedric shook his head, "I don't have the heart to tell him how she feels about me, and she'll never say a word to him. But I'm almost of age, so I can move out and things should get better."

"You should still think about telling your Dad, he should know. There is no guarantee that it will get better once you leave, she might just find something else to blame besides you. Plus it's not fair for you to hold this burden alone," Luna pushed, wanting him to understand.

"She's right you know, maybe with your Dad's help, she'll get better," Cho agreed.

"Even if you two are right, how am I supposed to tell him, 'Hey Dad, just wanted to tell you, Mum hates me.' That doesn't seem like something you put in a letter."

Draco sighed, "But it's a place to start, even if you just told him you had an issue, and you really want him to just hear you out, no judging. If he's even half as obsessed with you as your Mum thinks, he'll at least listen."

"It still wouldn't be safe, I'm quite certain that Mum goes through the mail. In fact, that's the reason I got detention in the first place. I was in the Owlery, waiting for my Dad's letter to come like every other Monday. But when I opened the letter, he was talking about how I must be busy with my studies because I never wrote home last week," Cedric started to explain, but a pained look crossed his face.

"But you would always find time to write, I know you do," Cho revealed, remembering how he'd talk about it all the time when they were dating.

"Yea, I write every Wednesday during my free period, send it out before dinner, and Dad writes back and sends it Monday afternoon. I know I wrote the letter. And he's never not received on before, but this time I had mentioned how Mum never writes me anymore and I was hoping to hear from her. Clearly Mum must have read it and not wanted him to see it, so she probably got rid of it, but I mean, why would she read the letters?"

"Clearly, she has been worried about you trying to tell on her, she's probably been doing that for years, depending on how long she's been acting this way," Draco threw out, not surprised by Mrs. Diggory's supposed actions.

"Yea, I guess. But it just hit me so hard, I never thought about it before. But now there was proof, that she doesn't want Dad to know. So I ended up sitting on the stairs for over an hour, and then Snape happened upon me. Gave me detention right on the spot for ditching class," he finished, crossing his arms over his chest in defense.

Hermione thought for a moment, it would definitely end badly if she got a hold of his next letter when Cedric was trying to talk to his Dad about this issue. "Why don't you send the next letter to his office, the one where you try to tell him about this. And then you can send your regular letter on Wednesday still, so you Mum doesn't get suspicious. Just agree that you must have lost it or something."

"Yea, that's a good idea," Luna concurred. "And if your Dad doesn't believe you, tell him that next week, you'll add in something negative about her, and if that letter also mysteriously disappears, then you know it has to be her. Or it might be Dabberblimps, those are devious creatures."

Cedric gave a soft chuckle, even though he suspected she was being completely earnest about those Dabb-whatevers. "You all have really good points, so I guess it won't hurt to try. If not, it can't really make things worse so, what do I have to lose, right? I'll actually work on that right now."

They all watched as he stood up and went back to his desk, picking up the quill for the first time. Hermione sighed heavily, amazed at how everyone's home life could suck for different reasons, and there was no way to compare their pain. It all just sucked, for everyone, even Luna, who had lost her Mum. She rested her arms on the desk, feeling emotionally drained at just hearing the stories from her peers, Harry should also be here to share his stories of the Dursleys.

"Okay, whose next, you or me, Hermione Jean Granger," the Slytherin asked her softly.

"Holy crap, you actually knew her name!" Cho exclaimed, jaw dropping open.

Luna smiled at him, seeing his genuine character beneath his cold façade, she had been watching him since detention had started. As she watched him slowly open up, she felt her heart swell; Draco needed someone to confide in, he deserved some friends that knew his secrets and wouldn't judge him for them.

At Hermione's pause, Draco took it upon himself to continue the sad stories, not letting himself dwell on the fact he was breaking a promise to himself. Ever since the Dark Lord had come back and his Father took a turn for the worst, he vowed he won't let anyone else see him as weak or useless. But he just couldn't keep it in anymore, and it wasn't like any of them were going to spill their guts about today.

"Well, as I alluded to earlier, my home life is definitely picture perfect. And I wish I could just hide behind my Mum like I used too, back when I was small. But she agrees with him on a lot of things, such as how useless I am when it comes to, well everything. I'm not the best in my year -gives Hermione a pointed look- I'm not the best at Quidditch, thanks to Potter always getting Gryffindor the Cup each year. I'm not a Supporter, and I've told them time and again that I won't get that damn Mark."

Luna gasped at his confession, his parents wanted him to take the Mark? They wanted that kind of life for their only son? No wonder Draco had always been closed off to everyone.

"Wait, so what about back in our first year, before we got sorted, you introduced yourself to Harry. How come? He was the one that caused Voldemort's downfall, why would you befriend him?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Well, that was why I wanted to befriend him, I was hoping that if we were friends, I could influence my parents into becoming good people. All I had heard growing up was how some people were better than others, all because of circumstance. I was rather rude to Weasley, some of the prejudices are harder to ignore than others. And when he turned me down, I reacted like a brat; that's the way I was raised. And then, I just started taking everything out on you three, Potter for spurning me, Weasley for being from a nicer family than me, and you, because you were the root of my problems. Well, at least I wanted to feel that way. It's all my fault thoough, I know that."

Hermione snorted, "It's not your fault either, it's your parents' fault for pushing you too hard, and wanting the wrong things for you. You know, it's been really easy to hate you, but it didn't take very long for you to win me over, you can be quite charming when you want to be. Second in our year is really something to be proud of you know."

"You're just saying that because of what happened earlier," he replied, winking at her. Then he smirked as he was rewarded with the biggest blush he's ever seen.

"Why did you even decide to be nice to me today?" she asked, needing to know what had changed.

"I figured it would be easier to get you to open up if you didn't have your two pals around. I'm tired of trying to be that kid that is too cool to care, it's exhausting. I just thought maybe, you'd understand me a little better if I wasn't pretending around you.

Hermione sniffled as tears filled her eyes, his words surprised her. All this time she thought Draco was just a prat who didn't care about anyone. But really he was just as troubled as anyone else and didn't deal with it like others did. So he pretended to be what his parents wanted, in the hopes that his life would be just a bit easier. Hermione threw her arms around him, wanting to reassure him that she finally understood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the back stories, obviously had to make them different from the movie and I did my best to find something that fit each stereotype. Up next is Hermione's story and then the end of the story! Clearly Draco's story is sad and messed up, but I tried to make him out to be not completely a butthole. Let me know what you think so far!


	7. Maybe We Could Be Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that everyone else has shared their tales of woe, Hermione decides to share her own. Then, they all have a discussion about the possibilities of them all becoming friends after this... Hermione even manages to get Draco back into Snape's office just in time, and Draco does something to surprise her.

"And he-here I thought my home life sucked," she quaked, knowing that she could never truly understand what it has been like for him. "Is that part of the reason you sabotaged the supply cabinet?"

Draco laughed heartily at the memory of that day in Potions, "That was one of my finest moments. It took me a long time to organize all those ingredients, if I made it too obvious that I switched things around, everyone would have noticed. I am glad that Finnegan is alright, that was quite the explosion. He even got Pans with it! Snape was pissed though."

Hermione laughed and sniffed as she released Draco from the hug, he really did some crazy things. It was probably a really good thing that he wasn't in Gryffindor with the twins, or the castle would probably be destroyed. As Draco's laughter calmed down, Hermione thought more about her own life, at home. Sure, it wasn't anything like Draco's, but it still weighed heavily on her heart.

"Now's the time to let it all out Hermione," Luna soothed, sensing that the older teen wanted to talk about things as well.

Tears started to stream down her face as she took a shaky breath, "I feel so ridiculous now, after hearing everything you all have gone through.

"But if it's bothering you, you have every right to be unhappy about it," Draco stated, rubbing her back.

"I'm sure a lot of people can relate, especially Harry, but Ron has never really understood, so I stopped talking about it. My parents, well they haven't abandoned me, but I guess they make me feel like I've abandoned them. I hate this feeling! It is bad enough, not fitting in at the Muggle schools; but then I come here and I still get made fun of. I'm too smart, I'm such a Know-it-All. In fact, that's why I'm stuck here! I got tired of Snape always calling me names, he's a professor, he's supposed to be, well, professional! But he's always looking down his nose at me, and I'd had enough! So when he called me in after class, we got into a nasty fight. I'm kind of surprised I only have one Saturday detention really.

"And what makes it worse with my parents is that they can't understand what it's like for me. At first they were so excited to learn about the Wizarding world, but over the years I think they've come to resent it a little. I'm always so far away during the year, they can't come see me, even though I do always write them. Then, when they try and ask about my classes, they have no clue what I'm telling them about, so they don't even know what to ask me about anymore. And of course, I spend a lot of time with the Weasleys over breaks. The first part of my breaks I do always spend with my parents, but when it's time to go back to school or get supplies, I figure it would just be easier if I went without them. And Mrs. Weasley has been so nice to me, welcoming me into her home, taking me to get school supplies and books. I feel like a horrible daughter," she finished, wiping her cheeks with her sleeves.

Everyone else paused at Hermione's words, they had never given thought to how it must be for those with Muggle parents; they were literally separated from their children, never really able to become a part of this world. What would happen when Hermione finally got a job? She'd either be working in the Wizarding world or living in the Muggle world and forgoing all the schooling she went through. And to make it worse, it sounds like her parents can't talk to her about it, because then they'd feel like they are forcing her to choose; no wonder they were starting to resent this world. Was it like this for other Muggleborns?

"Hermione, it's not your fault, or your parents. It really seems like you need to have a sit down with them and discuss everything. You still love them right? Make sure they always know that. Reassure then that maybe right now, you are spending holidays away, but you just want to be with friends as much as you can. I'm sure that when you are older and out on your own, you'll be visiting them all the time, especially on holidays. They are your parents, they have to understand that," Luna insisted.

As Hermione listened to Luna's kind words, she smiled gratefully, glad that no one here was telling her that it wasn't that bad and to get over it. She began to realize that all of them had probably felt that way, so afraid to speak out only to get told that no one cares. All of them had things to confess. Then she realized, that through all of this, Luna had been the one with kind words for everyone, she had some encouragement for everyone. Luna could see their struggles and recognize that they needed to share with each other.

"Luna, what did you do to get detention with all of us?" Hermione asked.

"I interrupted Professor Snape's potions class yesterday. I was telling everyone about Cornelius Fudge's Umgubular Slashkilter, it's very important information," Luna giggled.

"You knew that all of us were going to be here today, didn't you?" Cho accused, eyeing the blonde girl with shock.

"I had an idea, besides, I had nothing else to do today, I'm glad I came," Luna shrugged, still grinning at the others, eyes lit up.

Cedric laughed from his desk, leave it to Lovegood to get detention just because she had nothing else to do. But he also realized that she came today because she wanted to help them all out, by coming together and realizing that they weren't that different. She was pretty amazing, and it seems like he wasn't the only one who was realizing that.

"What would have happened if Snape had come back, or if none of us spoke to each other?" Draco asked, not quite believing in Luna's plan.

"Things always have a way of working out in the end, even in ways you might not expect," Luna smiled.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, today definitely supported that statement, despite the rough start, they had all come together.

"But, what will this mean for all of us, you know, next Monday?" Cho asked, looking back at Cedric.

"It won't really change much for me, I mean, I always say hi to anyone who says hi to me. So if you guys want to talk, I'm cool with that," Cedric told them all.

"I'm the same way, I'll talk with anyone, it doesn't matter what House you're in," Luna affirmed.

Cho and Hermione bit their lips, would it really be that easy for them to become a kind of group? Would Hermione really just be able to walk up to Cedric or Cho and just start a conversation with them? And what would her friends say about all of this? Let alone what had happened with her and Draco! They could never find out about that. She looked over at Draco, wanting to know how he felt about all of this. His response surprised her.

"I'm down with whatever, I'm tired of being the person my parents want me to be. I'm already known as a prankster, I give the twins a run for their money some times. I don't care if we stir up rumors by saying hi to each other in the halls. Especially if it bothers Potter and Weasley," he smirked, already picturing the horrified looks on their faces if Hermione waved to him.

"Do you really think it would be that easy?" Cho asked, still very uncertain.

"You can do what you want, if you don't want to talk with us, I understand. And if you do, I'll wait for you to initiate it, that way I know it's okay," Hermione told her, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy to just step outside of their personal cliques.

Cho tilted her head, "I'll have to think about it, no offense to you guys at all, just… you know…"

"So, are you down for being friends Hermione? Like I said, I'm all for stirring the pot," Draco asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Hermione blushed again and Luna laughed, happy to see them both relaxed finally. Before she could say anything, Cho tapped her on the shoulder, asking if they could have a private moment. Luna nodded her head and let the taller girl lead her to a different table. As soon as Cho was certain that the others weren't listening in, she spoke.

"I want to apologize to you Luna; I know you think that the Nargals are taking your things, but really it's my friends," she admitted, looking down at the floor. "I didn't know that they took things like your shoes, or any of your school things. I'll make sure they give everything back."

Luna looked perplexed, "It isn't the Nargals? Are you sure?"

Cho nodded her head solemnly, "They take things from you because you are… different. And they know that you think it's one of those creatures from… your Dad's tabloid. So they feel they can get away with it. But that's not right. I swear if I knew it was this bad, I would have told them off a long time ago."

"Oh," was all Luna said, wiggling her sock clad toes. "I guess that explains why some of the stuff from my truck is missing too; Nargals don't know how to open locks you know."

"But you know, after talking with you, I realize that you aren't as, weird as others make you seem. You have a lot of insight and great ideas to help out your peers, you are a wonderful person. I, want to be friends, is that okay?"

"I'd love that!" Luna smiled, pulling Cho into a hug.

Cho returned the hug, blushing fiercely, wondering if maybe she liked this girl a little more than as a friend. But one thing at a time, she didn't want to scare Luna away. The girls giggled as they sat down, the older witch giving the younger one some study tips and Luna gave Cho her cork necklace.

When Chang and Lovegood wandered off, Draco steered Hermione towards the last desk in the row, he might as well have a private conversation with her while he had the chance. Hermione didn't give him any resistance, sitting down on top of the table, legs swinging.

"You know, I think I do like Firewhiskey, although, only in moderation; and I should probably drink more water before Snape lets us out of here," Hermione laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

Draco smiled as he shook his head, even when she'd been drinking, she was still always trying to be responsible. He patted her hand and pushed away from the table; he found her goblet and filled it up with water before heading back to her.

"You are the best!" she exclaimed, sipping from the goblet.

"Can I get that in writing?" he kidded, knowing that she'd never admit that if she was sober.

But she looked up at him with somber eyes, "I think if we really want to try, we could be friends Draco."

His breathed hitched unexpectedly, she looked stunning and completely unguarded; he felt like this was the first time he was seeing her just as she was. All the other times, in class, at the library, on the pitch, she had a focused look on her face, like she couldn't stand to forget a single thing that was going on around her. But now, she was looking at him, only him, and she had an earnestness in her eyes that rocked him to his core. He leaned in closer, looking at the freckles spattered around her nose, how had he never noticed those before?

Hermione looked up at the Slytherin, trying to discern his thoughts, he looked so focused, almost like he was on the pitch and searching for the Snitch. When he leaned in closer, she held her breath, hands tightening on her cup; his steel grey eyes were pulling her in, she couldn't look away. She felt his hands wrap around hers, sparking the memories from earlier; he took the cup from her hands and set it on the table. Hermione opened her mouth to finally break the silence and Draco crashed his lips against hers, hands instantly curled in her hair.

Draco couldn't stop himself, when she looked up at him, he knew that he wanted things to go further between them, more than just a fun time during a Saturday detention. He slowed down when he felt her tense up, unsure if she was okay wit this, but within moments, her arms were wrapped around his neck, pulling him close again. As her fingers ran through his hair, he grinned, happy that she wasn't shying away from him, which he half expected.

Draco could tell by her hesitant movements that she wasn't an experienced kisser, but he saw that as more of an opportunity to teach her. He gently nibbled on her lower lip, ran his hands down her sides, and slowly leaned down, letting her relax slightly. When he pulled away, she whimpered slightly, looking up at him with a pout.

"So, I take it you wouldn't be against continuing this?" Draco smirked, loving the sound of her whimpering. "Because I'm totally for it if you are."

"I think that would be fun," Hermione admitted, trying not to blush.

Draco was about to respond when there was movement at the door; all of them instantly freezing, eyes wide. A spectral bird flew into the classroom, Hermione instantly recognizing it as a Patronus, it looked an awful lot like Fawkes. It surprised them all when it landed on Snape's desk and spoke to them.

"Attention, the Faculty meeting ran long, it's all my fault I'm afraid. But fear not, Professor Snape will be coming back soon to dismiss you, sorry for the tardiness. And thank you all for being responsible and remaining in the room until you are officially dismissed," Dumbledore's voice announced from the Patronus.

The phoenix then disappeared and they all collectively looked at the time, realizing that they should have been excused 10 minutes ago. Where had the time gone? Then the panic set in, none of them had done their essays, and Draco needed to get back into Snape's office! Hermione jumped off the table and quickly unrolled the parchment, the other gathering around.

"What should we write?" Cedric asked, panicking slightly, he really didn't want to come back.

"I know, I'll write it, you all work on getting the room back in order," Hermione whispered, shooing them all away.

The four of them scrambled, setting the desks back, Draco tucking the now empty bottle into his robes, while Hermione scribbled furiously. She hoped that none of them would have to come back because of this, but she gave it her best shot.

Dear Professor Snape,  
We spent countless hours trying to come up with something to write, something that would satisfy your ridiculous requirements. But in that time, we came to realize that all of us, are more alike than we thought. It doesn't matter how you see us, because to us, each one of us is: an athlete, a know-it-all, a rule breaker, popular, and a little bit weird. No matter what you think we are, we KNOW who we are, and we aren't here to change your mind.  
Sincerely,  
The Dungeon Club

Hermione reread the whole thing, quickly checking for errors before reading it aloud to the group. When all of them approved, they quickly signed their names, rolled it back up, and placed it on the desk. Satisfied with her work, Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and ran out into the hallway, into Snape's office and looked around.

"Where are you supposed to be?" she asked, not wanting him to get into any further trouble."

Draco pointed to the closet, the one he had to break out of earlier, "In there, I managed to climb out through that tiny window up top. And promptly fell to the floor, which is what caused the big crash earlier."

"Right… how are we supposed to get you back in there if it's locked?"

"Give me a boost and I'll shimmy back through, easy! And then you go back to your desk and look innocent. You're really good at that," he winked.

Hermione smacked him on the arm, "Now's not the time for that, you idiot! Come on!"

She pushed him over to the closet and folded her hands together, ready to boost him up, but he leaned down, giving her a quick kiss.

"How will I know that you really mean to see me again?" Draco asked, really pushing his luck.

"I'll come find you, I guess, hurry!" she shot back, exasperated.

But Draco shook his head, quickly reaching down and loosening his tie; he pulled it over his head and then loosened hers. Just as quickly, he replaced her red and gold tie with his green and silver one, throwing hers on over his head. "There, now we have to meet again, to switch back ties."

Hermione tried to glare at him, but she was too infatuated with him to really be angry, instead she waved her hands, getting his attention. Now that he was guaranteed another meeting, he scaled the wall with her help and slid back through the window. As soon as his feet disappeared, she said a quick goodbye and sprinted back to the dungeon, absentmindedly tightening the fabric around her neck. Leaping into her seat, she fanned her face and tried to calm her breathing, not wanting to catch Snape's attention yet again.

As she pulled her breathing under control, they heard footsteps coming closer; in a moment, Snape passed by, barely glancing into the room, fully expecting them to still be there. They waited in tense silence, hoping he wouldn't make too big of a deal out of their essays. Luckily he seemed to be in a bad mood, he strode into the room, dragging Draco behind him, and tossed their wands onto the table.

"You're all dismissed, get your wand and leave," he barked at them, not even asking for their essays, or noticing the rolled up parchment on his desk.

Not wanting to spend any more time there, they all scooped up their things and ran by his desk to pick up their wands, Cho holding Luna's hand as they ran out the door. Snape sat down heavily as they all scurried by, the meeting had been completely useless, he had no idea why it had dragged on for so long. He could have been writing up lesson plans during that time, but the Headmaster just insisted on keeping them all. Snape glanced up as Granger went by, taking a moment to register her appearance.

"Oh, Miss Granger," he called, ignoring the terrified look on her face as she turned around. "Don't forget to stop by the Hospital Wing, for some medicine, like we discussed earlier."

Hermione offered a curt nod before sprinting out the door; he shrugged off her nervousness as he looked back down at the desk. Belatedly he realized that none of them handed him their essays, but he didn't care at this point. Instead he unrolled the parchment he saw and scanned it, jaw dropping in surprise as he read it. Did they really have the gall to leave him a note like this? He folded it up and put it away in his robes, he'd deal with it later. Instead he tried to clear his mind, but the image of Granger facing him was stuck in his mind, something was off… Snape paled as he realized what was wrong, she had been wearing a Slytherin necktie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TA DA! It's complete! That was so exciting to write! I struggled at times, unsure of where to take things, but I think the end product is pretty good =D Hope you all enjoyed reading it! I'm thinking of maybe making a sequel of sorts in the future, like candid moments between the Club members in the following days. Please comment or message me if you'd be interested in reading something like that and I'll see what I can come up with =)

**Author's Note:**

> My very first attempt at a crossover with two titles I really enjoy =) Let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy it.


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